Posts Tagged ‘job’

You’ve mastered your current position and are pretty much the expert in that particular job function, but you’d like more challenge. You want to get to the next level but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of promotion or juicy project ahead.

Solution:

Go find another position within the company and start over.

It’s hard for anyone to leave a place of knowledge, expertise, respect, connections, or safety, and start over, but within a large corporation it’s about the safest thing to do.

When you become an expert, and you change positions within the same corporation, you never completely leave your expertise. People will still call you for advice or information, you are still somewhat available. And because of your experience in that area, you will always be welcomed back into the group if other positions don’t work out.

Sure, starting over in a new position, with a new manager and a whole new group of people can be completely unnerving because it is full of unknowns – you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know who to talk to, you’re the new kid on the block and therefore don’t have the respect that you’re used to. That’s okay. It puts you in a perfect position to learn, get away with making mistakes, and inject some new thoughts and ideas into the group because you’re not tainted with all the history and baggage of that department.

Starting over is immensely valuable because in the long run, you are building a broader range of experience and a larger, more diverse network of contacts. All the things you don’t know now, you’ll learn soon enough, and when you do, you’ll be twice as valuable for the company. Knowing more parts of the bigger system will definitely help you solve the tough problems and give you more people to call on when you need help.

And usually, you’re not starting completely at zero. You work for the same company, so you know what’s been happening at a macro level, and you’re probably somewhat aware of what your new group does. You may have even coordinated with them in the past so you understand the other side of the issues, and that will get you more respect in your new group.

Keep your eye on what’s happening in other areas so you know when they might need some help and how your particular expertise and experience can help them. Never burn bridges, and stay in touch with past co-workers, you never know what kind of opportunities may arise.

Don’t worry if this new group may not be your ‘dream job’. Learn to make a difference and put your mark on what ever department you work in. Over time, as you learn new skills and broaden your experience, you’ll be recognized as someone who can get the job done. Then, you’ll begin to be wanted, and offered many positions, from which you can choose the best one for you.